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Welch Allyn begins shut down at Oregon factory

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In this file photo from 2102, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is escorted on a tour of Welch Allyn's medical device factory in Skaneateles by one of the owners, Eric Allyn (center). The senator is introduced to plant employee Wayne Loveless (left) who operates a computer controlled lathe.
(David Lassman | dlassman@syracuse.com)

Skaneateles, NY -- Medical device maker Welch Allyn has told workers in Beaverton, Oregon that it will be shutting down the factory there and shedding 84 jobs over the year.

The move is not unexpected. Welch Allyn two years ago said it would move the Oregon work of making hospital monitors to Skaneateles and Mexico.

The company's vice president of Western manufacturing operations Peter Murray told The Oregonian that even as Welch Allyn cut factory workers it plans to add 10 people this year to its 65-person research and development team for software and wireless products. Eventually, there could be 90 to 100 people employed in Beaverton, he said.

In September 2102, faced with turmoil in the domestic market prompted by a new tax on medical devices, Welch Allyn announced plans to cut 10 percent of its global workforce, with most of the cuts coming from the Oregon factory, as it realigned its business to expand in new markets.

The privately-held company employed 2,750 people worldwide in 26 nations, including about 1,300 at its headquarters in Skaneateles in 2012.

In October, a federal labor investigator found that the Oregon job cuts were caused when Welch Allyn moved work overseas. That means the factory workers are eligible for Trade Act benefits, such as job retraining, relocation and extended unemployment benefits.

Contact Charley Hannagan by phone or text at 315-470-2161, by email at channagan@syracuse.com, on Facebook at Neighbors West or on Twitter @charleypost.